The 5th annual Fall Frontiers exhibition takes place in the Wilbur Cross South Reading Room. 74 undergraduate students presented their work and research. (Charlotte Lao/The Daily Campus)

University of Connecticut students across all disciplines had a chance to present their research at the Fall Frontiers Poster Exhibition. The event, hosted by the Office of Undergraduate Research, was designed to showcase and celebrate the hard work of student researchers.

This is the fifth year that the Fall Frontiers Poster Exhibition has taken place. Originally, the exhibition was exclusively in the spring, but the exhibition had reached full capacity and the Office of Undergraduate Research did not want to deny students the chance to share their research.

According to Caroline McGuire, the director for the Office of Undergraduate Research, many students who participated in off-campus summer internships or summer programs wanted a chance to share their work with the university community, making the addition of a fall exhibition an easy choice.

“The last thing we want to do is turn away a student who is interested in sharing their work,” McGuire said. “The two events work really nicely together, they complement one another and the more opportunities the students have to share their work, the better.”

Applications for the exhibition were opened about a month before the event, and all majors, disciplines and schools were encouraged to apply, McGuire said. The application process was not selective, so almost every student who applied was allowed to present at the poster exhibition.

Walking around the exhibition, those in attendance received various examples of student research across the disciplines. The posters ranged from “Analysis of a Clathrin Binding Small Molecule” to “Prodigal: A Cut-Paper Comic Book.” The majority of the research presented was scientific in nature, but the event did a great job of showcasing a variety of student research.

“I’ve learned a lot just walking around” seventh-semester political science and human rights major Nick Fuller said. “The research the undergrads do is translating into the real world and their stuff is going to have effects in the real world.”

The posters featured in the exhibit were often funded by grants and research programs. According to McGuire, the Office of Undergraduate Student Research worked to coordinate funding programs that have different focuses, allowing as many students as possible to do their research.

Fifth-semester English and secondary English education major Kathrine Grant had her research presented at the Spring Frontiers Poster Exhibition, and she was excited to have the opportunity to present her research again. Her research project, “Assessing Public Perception of K-12 Public Schools Using Anchoring Vignettes,” gave her the chance to explore and research something she is passionate about.

“My favorite part of this event is always just seeing what my peers are doing and having the opportunity to share what I am passionate about,” Grant said. “It is so interesting to see how passionate and how enthusiastic and how deep some of these people get into their research.”

For those interested in participating, there will be another poster exhibition during the spring semester.

“Any student who is engaged in an academic project is more than welcome to share their work at these events. It doesn’t need to be a thesis project, it doesn’t need to be funded by our office. We really want to help represent the full diversity and range of what students are doing,” McGuire said.